


Reaction

by tqpannie



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-09-17
Updated: 2005-09-17
Packaged: 2018-10-25 13:11:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10764951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tqpannie/pseuds/tqpannie
Summary: Ron's reaction to Hermione's hug in PoA





	Reaction

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

A/N: Excerpts from this story are taken from Prisoner of Azkaban by the great JK Rowlings. This is basically Ron’s reaction to Hermione breaking down and throwing her arms around him.

Ron felt horrible. It was his entire fault that Harry lost the map. Malfoy just got under his skin and then Harry came up with his plan. He shouldn’t have talked Harry into going—if he wanted to be honest he only did it because Hermione said Harry shouldn’t.

Ron and Harry walked along in silence until Ron spoke up.

“It’s my fault,” Ron said abruptly. “I persuaded you to go. Lupin’s right; it was stupid, we shouldn’t have done it.”

His voice trailed off as he spotted Hermione walking towards them. He had never seen anyone look so defeated and sad. The only time he’d ever seen Hermione look so upset was the moment after he called her a nightmare. Even when Draco Malfoy called her a Mudblood in second year she hadn’t been so upset.

“Come to have a good gloat?” said Ron savagely as she stopped in front of them. “Or have you just been to tell on us?”

He watched her bottom lip begin to tremble and for the first time in weeks he really looked at her. She had dark circles under her eyes, her brown eyes that usually danced with life looked dim, and she quite frankly just looked lost.

“No,” said Hermione, and Ron noticed she was clutching a letter in her hands and her lip continued to tremble. “I just thought you ought to know…Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be executed.”

Ron couldn’t speak past the lump in his throat when a single tear ran down her cheek. Harry was furious and Hermione was crying in earnest now, wiping her eyes and ranting about Lucius Malfoy.

He felt horrible—she’d been working so hard and all he could do was berate her about her bloody cat. Hagrid was right—her heart was always in the right place and Crookshanks was just doing what cats do.

“Only I can’t see any hope… Nothing will have changed.” She finished and sniffled just a bit.

Ron swallowed his pride and choked back the lump in his throat.

“Yeah it will,” said Ron fiercely, ‘you won’t have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I’ll help.”

“Oh Ron!”

The words had barely left her lips when she flung her arms around his neck. Strange sensations washed over him and he exchanged a terrified look with Harry. She was soft and her hair smelled like apples. Ron patted her head awkwardly, confused by the urge to run his fingers through it, and he wondered why he picked today to notice how utterly fabulous she smelled.

His heart was racing in his chest as she sobbed into his neck. What was this feeling coming over him? Part of him wanted her to step away and the other stronger part almost hoped she wouldn’t let go. He felt a fierce need to protect her as her tears wetted the collar of his jumper.

Several minutes later she drew away slowly and took deep breaths to get herself under control. Their eyes met and he was confused by the look in hers. They were still only inches apart and he had to force himself not to pull her back into a hug.

Why? Ron thought he knew but he shouldn’t feel that way about Hermione. She infuriated him, drove him mad, and she was suppose to be one of the blokes.

“Ron, I’m really, really sorry about Scabbers…” she sobbed.

In the three years he had known Hermione never once had she apologized to him. Yet here she was saying sorry for something that wasn’t her fault and Ron admitted to himself he had been a complete prat.

He looked down into her wet eyes and almost raised his hand to brush away the tears trickling down her face.

“Oh—well—he was old,” Ron said. “And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now.”

The trio turned to walk back to the common room. Ron’s palms were sweaty and he had a feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn’t explain. It was as though he’d eaten a bunch of those Peppermint Creams that were shaped like toads.

He glanced at Hermione as she chatted with Harry—and while they were both distracted he wiped his sweaty palms on the leg of his trousers.

Ron was grateful that neither of them noticed.


End file.
